In recent years, terminals such as televisions capable of receiving and outputting digital broadcasting contents, video contents on networks (hereinafter, referred to as streamed video contents), and the like have been commercially produced; and products including such terminals are increasing in numbers. In addition, products capable of outputting similar contents are starting to emerge in the field of mobile instruments such as mobile phones; and such products including such terminals are increasing in numbers.
Among the contents described above, when compared to analog broadcasting, it is necessary in digital broadcasting to conduct various processes such as decoding, and a processing time required from the start of an acquisition of data to a display of an image is lengthy. Furthermore, with regard to the streamed video contents, it is necessary to conduct a pre-buffering process for a stable reproduction; thereby, the processing time required to display an image is lengthier when compared to digital broadcasting.
Meanwhile, on a topic of television viewing methods, in order to search for a program that draws his or her interest, a user conducts a channel zapping operation, which is to frequently switch and view channels in a short period of time. However, when compared to conventional analog broadcasting, digital broadcasting and streamed video contents require longer processing time from the start of an acquisition of data to a display of an image. Therefore, when compared to conventional analog broadcasting, upon switching to a channel, for digital broadcasting and streamed video contents, there is a time lag between the channel-switching and the displaying of an image.
In order to solve such a problem, for example, an invention disclosed in patent literature 1 pre-buffers video contents that are in channels in proximity of a currently viewed channel. In said invention, as a result of the pre-buffering, video contents are quickly outputted when a channel is selected by a user operation. Therefore, a comfortable operability is attained in a case where the user conducts a channel zapping operation with digital broadcasting and streamed video contents.